Gary Graham can't afford to be shy. Throughout his life as a North Side student, a hockey player, a fireworks salesman, mortgage broker and coach, Graham has always had to sell people on what he could do as opposed to what they thought he couldn't do. And then he always had to keep proving it as he kept trying to climb levels.

Fewer than a dozen hockey players from Indiana have played at the AA or AAA minor league level and even fewer have become successful coaches. Graham missed making it as a player but is convinced he can make it as a coach. All he wants is a chance to convince everyone else.

The 1997 North Side graduate has been the Komets' assistant coach for four seasons, and if he makes it to a head coaching job someday, his story will be legendary because his chances truly started from almost nothing. A defenseman, Graham was a good player by Indiana standards, and managed to play a year-and-a-half of junior hockey before his playing career hit the ceiling.

He understood he was only going to advance so far as a player in part because he didn't start playing until age 12. His playing days had fizzled but not his passion.

``It's funny how you get into coaching,'' he said. ``I was always the guy who was leading, either as captain or as the class president at North Side or owning my own business for 10 years. Coaching seemed a natural to me.''

After coming home and going to Ball State, he started coaching the Snider club team and led the Panthers to the Class AA state title game. The next year they won the city championship.

Then Graham worked as an assistant coach with a junior team in Indianapolis that finished one win a way from advancing to the national tournament. Following that, Graham returned to North Side where he coached the Redskins' club team, taking a squad that finished last the previous season to the city title.

While working in his fireworks business during the off-season, Graham became friends with Komets defenseman Guy Dupuis. During his part-time job, Dupuis would sell Graham advertising signs and talk about hockey.

``Guy knew my passion for coaching, and one day after they won the triple overtime game against Port Huron (in 2008), I told him I really needed to take this to the next level,'' Graham said. ``Because I didn't have a playing career, I knew I had to have somebody help get me into it. I asked Guy, `What do you think about getting me in front of Al Sims?' He said he could do that.''

Graham figured if he was lucky, he might get a few drills he could use from Sims or a chance to observe training camp. The Komets coach, Dupuis and Graham met one summer night on Chipoltle's patio, with Sims quizzing Graham on hockey philosophy and systems. Sims sensed Graham's passion right away.

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Komets' assistant battling for next big chance